Anthony Q. Farrell’s Canfro Productions Opens Applications For Diverse Showrunner Bootcamp

EXCLUSIVE: Shelved creator Anthony Q. Farrell and his Canfro Productions are back on the hunt for the hottest Canadian showrunner talent.

A call has gone out for applications for the latest cohort of the Diversity Showrunner Bootcamp program, which is sponsored by Warner Bros Discovery Access Canada. Submissions are now open until October 22, with successful applicants noticed by October 31.

The initiative was first run in partnership with BIPOC TV & Film in fall 2021 and then again in spring 2022, and has been attended to by close to 100 creatives in total. Farrell, among Canada’s leading TV writers and showrunners, launched the program to address industry knowledge gaps among BIPOC scribes.

Past attendees have included Sadiya Durrani (Zarqa), Sasha Leigh Henry (Bria Mack Gets a Life), Robina Lord-Stafford (St. Pierre), Christopher Yip (Streams Flow From a River), Shazia Javed (Potluck Ladies) and Zarqa Nawaz (Little Mosque on the Prairie, Zarqa).

To qualify, applicants need to be, according to the initiative: “Black, Indigenous, a Person of Colour, a member of the LGBTQ2+ community, or a person with a disability.” They must have had at least one series in development with a Canadian or U.S. network or a production company, or have attained producer-level credit on at least one Canadian series or have a story editor credit on an animated series.

The Bootcamp will offer eight three-hour training sessions, run by Farrell and other industry leaders, between November 2024 and January 2025. Sessions will be presented virtually to ensure access to creatives across Canada.